The famous composer’s life and his career. His love story with Isabella Colbran, the soprano who was to become his wife and the singer in all his operas up to the unfortunate day she lost her voice.
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Biography
Un grand amour de Beethoven / Beethoven’s Great Love (1936) Abel Gance, Harry Baur, Annie Ducaux, Jany Holt, Biography, Drama, Music
1801, in Vienna, two young women, his pupils, are in love with him. Thérèse de Brunswick’s love remains unrequited even though she and Beethoven are engaged for years; Juliette Guicciardi, whom Beethoven loves but who marries a count, regrets that decision, but by then he and Thérèse are engaged. Read More »
Das Mädchen Johanna / Joan The Maid (1935) Gustav Ucicky, Angela Salloker, Gustaf Gründgens, Heinrich George, Biography, Drama, History
The story of Joan of Arc has been filmed so often that it need not be repeated here. This 1935 version obviously can’t quite compete with the masterworks Dreyer, Bresson, or Rivette derived from the same story, but it’s nevertheless a very effective film which focuses much more on the intrigues of the men around Joan than on the girl herself, who gets surprisingly little screentime. Read More »
Pirosmani (1969) Giorgi Shengelaia, Avtandil Varazi, Dodo Abashidze, Givi Aleksandria, Biography
This film is about the great Georgian painter – primitivist Niko Pirosmanashvili (1862-1918). An unknown, self-taught painter roams the streets of a city, painting his pictures. Read More »
Il vangelo secondo Matteo / The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964) Pier Paolo Pasolini, Enrique Irazoqui, Margherita Caruso, Susanna Pasolini, Biography, Drama, History
Along a rocky, barren coastline, Jesus begins teaching, primarily using parables. He attracts disciples; he’s stern, brusque, and demanding. Read More »
Esther and the King (1960) Raoul Walsh, Mario Bava, Joan Collins, Richard Egan, Denis O’Dea, Biography, Drama, History
When a modern-day girl faces a big challenge in her life, her mother teaches her about the power of fasting by sharing the story of a heroine from the Bible.
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Der Choral von Leuthen / The Anthem of Leuthen (1933) Carl Froelich, Walter Supper, Otto Gebühr, Olga Tschechowa, Elga Brink, Biography, Drama, History
The story of the rise to power of King Frederick II (aka “Frederick the Great”) of Prussia of his military campaigns to make Prussia a major power in Europe.
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Raging Bull (1980) Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci, Biography, Drama, Sport
When Jake LaMotta steps into a boxing ring and obliterates his opponent, he’s a prizefighter. But when he treats his family and friends the same way, he’s a ticking time bomb, ready to go off at any moment.
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My Left Foot (1989) Jim Sheridan, Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Alison Whelan, Biography, Drama
Christy Brown is a spastic quadriplegic born to a large, poor Irish family. His mother, Mrs Brown, recognizes the intelligence and humanity in the lad everyone else regards as a vegetable. Eventually, Christy matures into a cantankerous writer who uses his only functional limb, his left foot, to write with.
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Käthe Kollwitz (1986) Ralf Kirsten, Carmen-Maja Antoni, Gerd Baltus, Gabriele Barth, Biography, Drama
One dramatic event marked the life of the great German artist in particular. At the beginning of the First World War she was already world famous for her etchings, lithographs, carvings and drawings.
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